Author: chicagoinquirer

by Stephen Sloan and Steve Peoples WASHINGTON  — President Donald Trump started in sales mode, using his State of the Union address to deliver an upbeat vision of the U.S. economy. But that portrayal collides with the sentiment of Americans who remain anxious about their finances and feel they haven’t benefited from Trump’s policies. He took the high road to honor the gold medal-winning U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team and a war hero before pivoting abruptly to a darker tone as he ridiculed Democrats. Here are takeaways from the speech. Trump’s ‘roaring’ economy is at odds with sour public sentiment…

by Matt Calson CHICAGO  — Karl-Anthony Towns had 28 points and 11 rebounds for his NBA-leading 39th double-double and the New York Knicks outlasted the sliding Chicago Bulls 105-99 on Sunday night for their second straight victory. Towns scored six straight points — on a 3-pointer, a layup and free throw — after Chicago took a 95-94 lead with 3:52 left in regulation on Matas Buzelis’ 3. Mikal Bridges hit another 3-pointer with 27 seconds left, and Jalen Brunson iced it with two free throws. Brunson had 19 points and nine assists to help New York deal the Bulls a…

by Dyepkazah Shibayan ABUJA, Nigeria  — At least 33 people have been killed after Islamic militants launched simultaneous attacks on a district in northwest Nigeria, according to the police. The attack took place on Wednesday in the Biu community of Kebbi state, police spokesman Bashir Usman said in a statement late Thursday night. The assailants crossed from Sokoto state, parts of which are occupied by the Lakurawa insurgent group, Usman said. “Preliminary investigations confirm that armed Lakurawa militants entered the area to rustle cattle,” he said, adding that security personnel have been deployed to restore calm and maintain order. The…

by Joey Cappelletti and Steven Sloan WASHINGTON  — The National Governors Association is pulling out of an annual meeting at the White House after President Donald Trump declined to invite two Democratic governors, undercutting one of Washington’s few remaining bipartisan gatherings. Trump is still expected to meet with governors at the White House on Friday but the event will not be facilitated by an organization founded more than a century ago to help state leaders from both parties advocate for their interests in Washington. The Republican president had refused to include Democratic Govs. Jared Polis of Colorado and Wes Moore…

by Sophia Treen CHICAGO  — From jokes about his well-known stubbornness to tears grieving the loss of a parent, the adult children of the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. gave an emotional tribute Wednesday honoring the legacy of the late civil rights icon, a day after his death. Jackson died Tuesday at his home in Chicago after battling a rare neurological disorderthat affected his ability to move and speak. Standing on the steps outside his longtime Chicago home, five of his children, including U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson, remembered him not only for his decades-long work in civil rights but also…

by Curtis Yee, Michael Warren and Nell Clark The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, who led the U.S. Civil Rights Movement for decades, died Tuesday. The protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate was 84. As a young organizer in Chicago, Jackson was called to meet with King at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, shortly before King was killed, and he publicly positioned himself thereafter as King’s successor. Jackson led a lifetime of crusades in the United States and abroad, advocating for the poor and underrepresented on issues, including voting rights, job opportunities, education and…

by Aamer Madhani WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.  — President Donald Trump said Sunday that members of his newly created Board of Peace have pledged $5 billion toward rebuilding war-ravaged Gaza and will commit thousands of personnel to international stabilization and police forces for the territory. The pledges will be formally announced when board members gather in Washington on Thursday for their first meeting, he said. “The Board of Peace will prove to be the most consequential International Body in History, and it is my honor to serve as its Chairman,” Trump said in a social media posting announcing the pledges.…

by Ben Finley WASHINGTON — White House border czar Tom Homan said Sunday that more than 1,000 immigration agents have left Minnesota’s Twin Cities area and hundreds more will depart in the days ahead as part of the Trump administration’s drawdown of its immigration enforcement surge. A “small” security force will stay for a short period to protect remaining immigration agents and will respond “when our agents are out and they get surrounded by agitators and things got out of control,” Homan told CBS’s Face the Nation. He did not define “small.” He also said agents will keep investigating fraud…

by Joseph Omoremi WASHINGTON DC -A February 13, 2026 deadline has been issued to both the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)  and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)  to produce a “Vaughn index” report on why 50 out of 238 pages processed on the criminal investigation conducted on  President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria between 1990 and 1994 were redacted and 172-pages withheld. “Joint status report has parroted the same message for the past six months with no anticipated end in sight,” hence the need for the deadline among other steps towards resolving the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) dispute”, said…

by Saleh Nwanamilongo CHICAGO, IL – Opposition to a deal that would allow U.S. companies access to critical minerals in Congo is growing after Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi returned from the U.S. minerals summit last week — with praises from U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. lawmakers. Tshisekedi has offered U.S. companies access to eastern Congo’s rich minerals — mostly untapped and estimated to be worth $24 trillion – as a bargaining chip for U.S. support to help fight off rebels and build critical infrastructure in the region where Rwanda-backed rebels seized major cities last year. It comes as the…